Machine for very rapidly pressing ball pen points and other articles starting from a metallic strip or wire



July 1, 1969 P. AZZARITI MACHINE; FOR VERY RAPIDLY PRESSING BALL PEN POINTS AND OTHER ARTICLES STARTING FROM A METALLIC STRIP OR WIRE Sheet Filed NOV. 28, 1966 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS y 1969 P. AZZARITI 3,452,693

MACHINE FOR VERY RAPIDLY PRESSING BALL PEN POINTS AND OTHER ARTICLES STARTING FROM A METALLIC STRIP 0R WIRE Filed NOV. 28, 1966 Sheet .02 7 v INVENT OR FIG. 2a

2 nee 1422/12/71 BY I ,z. W

ATTORNEYS y 1, 196? 21mm 3,452,693

MACHINE FOR VERY RAPIDLY PRESSING BALL PEN POINTS AND OTHER ARTICLES STARTING FROM A METALLIC STRIP 0R WIRE Filed Nov. 28, 1966 .Sheet of '7 INVENTOR P/srea 1422/15/77 ATTORNEYS y 1969 P. AZZARlTl 3, 52,693

. MACHINE FOR VERY RAPIDLY PRESSING BALL PEN POINTS AND OTHER ARTICLES STARTING FROM A METALLIOSTRIP 0R WIRE Fi1ed Nov... 28. 1966 Sheet 4 0117 P/Eneo l4zz4e/r/ ATTORNEYS i of? INVENTCR ATTORNEYS Sheet y 1959 P.-AZZARITI MACHINE FOR VERY RAPIDLY PRESSING BALL PEN POINTS AND OTHER ARTICLES STARTING FROM A METALLIC STRIP OR WIRE Filed Nov. 28, 1966 FICSa P/Eneo AzzA/e/r/ a9 as I II I Ill

5/ w w A p a 2 7 -mw p H \w m i m I Q KSFL w July 1, 1969 P. AZZARITl 3,452,693

MACHINE FOR VERY RAPIDLY PRESSING BALL PEN POINTS AND OTHER ARTICLES STARTING FROM A METALLIC STRIP OR WIRE Filed Nov. 28. 1966 Sheet 6 of 7 22 57 90 w I M54? 0 A 1; O Q 60 7% Y Q n 65 H 66 na 7 I FIG 8 INVENTOR P/Enea Azzne/r/ ATTORNEYS July 1, 1969 P. AZZARITI 3,452,693

MACHINE FOR VERY RAPIDLY PRESSING BALL PEN POINTS AND OTHER ARTICLES STARTING mom A METALLIC STRIP on WIRE Filed Nov. 28, 1966 Sheet of '7 INVENT OR 1 /5720 A/zzme/r/ ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 113-113 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A high speed machine for pressing ball pen points has a horizontally disposed series of work stations along which small metal workpieces move to undergo a progressive series of forming operations. A reciprocatory conveyor moves the workpieces stepwise along the series of stations and comprises a pair of superposed horizontal bars the lower of which has upwardly open notches therein at the same pitch as the work stations, the bars advancing the workpieces when closed together on the workpieces and opening for the return stroke.

The present invention relates to a machine for very rapidly pressing ball pen points and other workpieces starting from a metallic strip or wire, characterized by a plurality of parallel pressing stations situated side by side and simultaneously working to perform each a particular working phase, each station comprising a punch and a counter-punch or extractor member coaxially approaching and moving apart from each other as well as a die provided with guide members and conveying means intermittently moving in a direction perpendicular to the above mentioned coaxial movement to contemporaneously feed the workpieces from a station to the successive one, as soon as a working phase has been completed.

According to a preferred embodiment of the machine of the invention, said pressing stations and said conveying means are disposed with axes lying in a horizontal plane. Each pressing station comprises in its turn, a punch and a counter punch or extractor member, each one fixed to a bar reciprocating in a coaxial direction to and from each other by the action of cams, the whole being integrated by a die while the conveying means comprise two cross bars perpendicular to the ones provided at the pressing stations in correspondence of the workpieces, said cross bars being provided with recesses adapted to receive each a workpiece and intermittently moving from the pressing axis i.e. with a mutual opening translational movement of one pitch or stop, namely of the distance between one station and the adjacent one and then returning towards the pressing axis, said movements being also effected by the action of cams, whereby the cams relative to the various pressing stations and the .cams relative to the conveying means are both simultaneously driven by a common motor.

In the above mentioned machine intended to be used for the manufacture of ball pen points starting from a metal strip, then the pressing stations will comprise punches and counter-punches or extractor members as well as dies shaped and dimensioned to successively perform the following operations:

(a) feeding the strip;

(b) shearing a small disc portion from the strip with simultaneous, partial cup-shape drawing of same to transform it into a capsule;

(c) gradually stretching said capsule at a plurality of 3,452,693 Patented July 1, 1969 successive stations to transform same into a longitudinal blind bottom tubular element;

(d) shearing the bottom portion from said tubular element;

(e) reducing the diameter by drawing the fore portion of the ball pen point at several successive stations;

(f) completely shaping the ball pen points Within a suitable die.

In the machine of the invention intended to be used for the manufacture of ball pen points starting from a metallic wire with a consequent minimum waste of material, then the pressing stations will comprise members, punches and counter-punches shaped and dimensioned to successively perform the following operations:

(a) feeding the wire;

(b) shearing a small cylindrical workpiece from the wire;

(0) extruding the cylindrical workpiece to form a capsule;

(d) gradually stretching said capsule, at a plurality of successive stations, to transform it into a longitudinal blind bottom tubular element;

(e) shearing the bottom portion from said tube;

(f) reducing the diameter by drawing the fore portion of said ball pen point at a plurality of successive stations;

(g) finally shaping the ball pen point in a suitable die.

To make the invention better understood, the above mentioned preferred embodiment of the invention, adapted to press ball pen points from a strip as well as from a wire is going to be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the horizontal section of the machine in correspondence of the parallel pressing stations situated side by side.

FIGS. Za-a', b-b, c, d-d, e-e' are views of the various pressing stations.

FIG. 3a-3b is partial cross sectional view of the machine taken along a normal plane pressing through a pressing station.

FIG. 4 is a view of a detail of FIG. 3.

FIG. Sa-Sb is a frontal view of the conveying member.

FIG. 6a6b is a top plan view on FIG. 5a-5b.

FIG. 7 is a partially sectioned side view of the conveying mechanism for the strip to be worked at.

FIG. 8 is a view of a detail of the mechanism shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a partially sectioned plan view of the mechanism controlling the feeding of the wire, to be worked at.

FIG. 10 is a horizontal section of the mechanism shown in FIG. 9.

The machine of the invention comprises a frame 1 (FIG. 1) supporting the prismatic block 2 containing the main parts of the machine namely the pressing and conveying stations actuated over the pair of pulleys 3 and 4, at variable speed, said pulleys being, in their turn, driven by a motor (not shown) coaxial to the pulley 4.

The various parallel pressing stations, disposed side by side (FIGS. 2abcde) contained within the prismatic block 2, are preceded by a conveying station for the metallic strip 11 (FIG. 2a -2a'), said station also performing a partial cup-shape drawing operation and comprising a punch 6 sliding into a strip presser 7 which, in its turn, slides within the shearing die 8. This die is adapted to receive the drawing die 9 penetrating therein and sliding in.

the extractor member 10 ofthe strip 11 while the extractor 12 is provided to expell the capsule-like drawn object 13. The drawing punch 6 is fixed to and actuated by the piston 15 which also carries the die 8 When the piston 15 moves forward, the die 8 shears a small disc from the stripsthat is held in position against 3 the die 9 by the strip-presser 7, acted upon by the spring 14.

In its forward movement, the punch 6 draws to a cupshape the disc 13.

The strip 11 is pushed against the extractor member 10, which is also opposed by a non-represented spring and brings the strip back to the starting position whereafter it is shifted on one pitch or step for the next shearing operation,

The extractor member 12 pushes the capsule 13 out of the die 9 so that the conveying bars may take it up for further movement. In this first station a small disc portion is hence cut from the strip 11 and transformed into a capsule 13. The following stations are actuated by the bars 18 and 19 (FIGS. 2b-2b' and 3a-3b) axially and synchroneously moved by the action of the cams 29-21 fixedly mounted on the shafts 22-23.

Each station comprises (FIGS. 2b-2b') a punch 6 bound to a bar 18 over a fork element 24, a stationary extractor member 25, a movable extractor member 26-, a die 27 and guide means 28. Since the number of the various stations, as shown in FIG. 1, may be very high, it is obvious that the machine of the invention constituting a quite compact solid unit with a minimum of overall dimensions, is apt to perform very complex workings with a tremendous number of working phases.

The several punches 6 and dies 27 are adapted, in their open position, to receive the conveying member intermittently entering therebetween, said member consisting of an upper bar 30 and a lower bar 31 (FIGS. 1, a-5b) mutually approaching (closing), moving apart and axially translating of one pitch p i.e. of the distance between one station and the adjacent one.

All this in order to take the pressed article from one station and convey it to the successive one while holding it in the recesses 32 provided to this scope. The tie rod 33 and the mechanism controlled by the shafts 34-35-36, which may also be seen in FIG. 6, are going to be described in detail hereinafter by making reference to the other FIGS. 7, 8, 9, as well, which illustrate the constructive details thereof.

The machine of the invention functions in the following manner.

The motion is transmitted by a non-represented motor (provided with a variable diameter trapezoidal pulley) to the complementary pulley or flywheel 4 (FIG. 1) also of trapezoidal shape. Varying the distance of the motor the diameter on which the belt works correspondingly varies thereby increasing or decreasing the speed.

By the belt 4n the motion is transmitted to the flywheel 3 which controls the shaft 22 over the electromagnetic clutch 42, while an electro-magnetic brake 43 reacts against the base portion 1. The shaft 22 thereby receives a suitable speed of the order of 150-450 revolutions per minute. The shaft 22 actuates the whole set of earns Over the bevel gears 45-46 and 47-48 the shaft 22 actuates the parallel shaft 23 and hence the whole set of op posed cams 21 (see also FIG. 3b) which moves in perfect synchronism with the set of earns 20.

The cams of each station are so shaped and fixed on the respective shafts (see FIGS. 2 and 3) that they may produce the required operative and return movements of the respective bars 18 and 19 to effect a predeterminate working phase.

The initial station (FIGS. 2a-2a) is provided, as mentioned, with means for shearing a disc from the metallic strip 11, to be worked at (FIGS. 7-8), and for contemporaneously forming a capsule 13.

When the working is started from a wire the initial station is provided with means for shearing a small cylindrical workpiece from said Wire, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. When the working is started from the succession of the several operative phases a metallic strip (FIG. 2a) is the following:

( In the est position (FIG. 2a) he drawing punch 6, the strip presser 7 and the shearing die 8 are all aligned. The piston 15 moves forward thereby pushing the above mentioned elements. When the strip presser 7 comes into contact with the strip 11 it suddenly stops thereby acting on the spring 14 while the shearing die 8 continues its rightward movement thereby shearing a small disc from the strip 11. Right after being cut, the small disc is pushed by the punch 6 into the drawing die 9 which shapes it into a capsule 13.

At the end of the operation, the piston 15 retracts into its starting position while the extractor member 10 brings the strip back into its initial position and the extractor member 12 expells the capsule 13 from the die 9.

In other words: at the end of the operation the strip 11 is back in the initial position shown in FIG. 2a while the capsule 1-3 is pushed upwards to the middle position (also represented in FIG. 2a) where it may be easily caught up by a recess 32 of the conveying bars 30 and 31 -(FIGS. Sa-b) and moved of one pitch p to the successive station 2b.

(b) At this station the punch 6, guided by the guide member 28, pushes the capsule 13 through the die 27, stretching same with contemporaneous decrease its diameter. During this phase the extractor member 26 follows the motion of the punch 6 maintaining the bottom portion of the capsule 13 under a certain pressure.

Subsequently the bar 18, actuating the punch 6, returns towards the left and the capsule 13 is pushed by the movable extractor member 26 to the middle position shown in FIG. 2b where it is to be caught up by the conveying bars 30-31 (FIG. 5) and shifted of one pitch.

The punch 6 may be easily interchanged since it is mounted in position by means of the holding fork 24 only.

(0) The stations b (FIG. 2b) and c (FIG. 20) have intermediate stations placed therebetween which function similarly to station 2b to furtherly draw the capsule 13 reducing its diameter and stretching it.

When the capsule is sufiiciently elongated the bottom portion thereof is removed as shown in FIG. 20 and the capsule is transformed into a tubular element. Under the action of the bar 18 the punch 6 moves towards the right thereby displacing the capsule 13 until it comes into contact with the die 50 which, holding it up, allows for the punch 6 to cut the bottom portion 13' away.

Said bottom portion 13 is discharged into the channel 51 situated below the board distance piece 52.

(d) At the successive station 20! the punch 6 pushes the tubular element 13, through the guide means 28, to the die 53 which draws it into the profiled shape 13" shown in FIG. 2d. Subsequently the profiled tubular element 13" is expelled from the die 53 and from the guide means 28 (FIG. 2d) to be caught up by the conveying bars 30-31 (FIG. 5) which shift is of one step.

(e) At this last station the tubular element assumes the perfect shape 13", of a ball pen point ready to receive the ball and then to be applied to the small tubular element which will be filled with ink.

The final shape is given by the dies 54-55-56 (FIG. 2e) with the cooperation of the punch 6, which acts as It: left6extractor member, and of the right extractor mem- It will be obvious that, by simply changing the shape of the punches, of the dies and of the extractor members, it will be possible to manufacture other articles besides ball point pens, the manufacturing processes comprising pressing, drawing, shearing extrusion operations and so on.

The intermittent feeding movement of the strip 11 is communicated by the device shown in FIG. 7 and situated upstream of the station 2a. Said device comprises the eccentric means 57, with adjustable eccentricity, to vary the length of the strip section to be cut. Said eccentric means is driven over the chain 58 by the drive shaft 22 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The eccentric means 57 drives, over the lever 60, the free trip device 61 dragging along the two pressure rollers 62-63 adapted to take hold of the strip therebetween While the lever 64 actuates in synchronism the cutting blades 65-66 adapted to cut away the material to be rejected so as to obtain small segments or workpieces which are more suitable for the further working operations.

When the working is started from a wire 11' (FIGS. 9 and the wire is straightened by the rollers 67-68- 69, passes then to the rollers 62-63 actuated in exactly the same manner as mentioned before and finally comes into contact in 11", with the stop member 70 which may be adjusted by means of the micrometric screw 71 provided with a conical bottom portion.

The blade 72 reciprocating (as shown by the arrow 73) in virtue of the axial movement 74 of the pusher 75, ending with the chute 76, shears from the wire 11 small cylindrical pieces of exactly controlled length which are then conveyed to the successive station by the bars 30- 31 (FIG. 5). The displacements according to the arrow 77 (FIGS. 5 and 6) are imparted to the bars 30-31 by the members 78-80-81-83-84 (FIGS. 1-5-6) which are driven by the shaft 22 (FIG. 1).

The member 78 (FIG. 1) consists of a cam having a trapezoidal groove 78' with a partly helicoidal and partly circular outline on a radial plane.

This groove is adapted to receive the conical roller 80 engaging therein and acting, over the pivot 34 and the levers 98-82-83 (FIGS. 1-5-6), as a tapped means for transmitting the motion, in the direction of the arrow 77, to the bars 30-31. To ensure the perfect contact of the two bars 30-31 with the punches, the dies and the extractor members of the various stations there are provided two pivots 96 (FIG. 3a) which, under the action of the springs 101, penetrate into the complementary cavity 97 of the bar and then successively retract under the action of the cam 103 transmitted over the levers 95-97-100. If, for any possible reason, the pivots 96, under the action of the spring 101, could not enter into the cavity 97, the lever 95 (FIG. 4), acted upon by the spring 102, would follow the cam 103 while the lever 94 connected to the pivot 96 would stay in its initial position (FIG. 4) so that the microswitch 104 would in fact lose the contact, thereby stopping the machine.

The opening and closing motions, in the sense of the arrows 87 (FIG. 5b), are communicated to the bars 30- 31 by the members 79-99-35-36-80-81-88 (FIGS. 1- 5-6).

Said members comprise: the cam 79 (similar to the cam 78) (FIG. 1) provided with atrapezoidal groove 79 having the tappet operating conical roller 99 engaging therein and driving over the pivots or pins 35 and 36, the lever 88 (FIG. 5b) actuating the two bars 30 and 31 in the sense indicated by the arrows 87. The levers 89 and 90 are adapted to transmit, over the bar 33, the motion to the lever 91 (FIG. 5a) which acts upon the pivot or pins 93 at opposite ends of the bars 30 and 31.

On the whole, the two bars 30 and 31 perform the following movements: a movement away from the pressing axis i.e. an opening movement in the direction of the arrows 87 and a" successive translational movement of one pitch or step p i.e. of the distance between one station and the adjacent one (arrow 77) and a return movement in the position corresponding to the pressing axis i.e. a closing movement.

The recesses or notches 32 are provided for receiving the pressed articles.

The extraordinary working speed of the machine according to the present invention may be easily explained by the fact that, being provided with 30 stations, at each revolution with simultaneous opening movement of the punches, extractor means and dies the machine produces a finished article which has undergone 30 different operations.

Because of its particular structural characteristics the machine of the invention, notwithstanding its considerable number of working stations has very small overall dimensions.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for very rapidly pressing small metal workpieces, said apparatus having a horizontally disposed series of work stations through which said workpieces pass in succession along a horizontal path, each of said work stations having pressing mechanism therein comprising members disposed on opposite sides of said path and movable toward and away from each other to press said workpieces between said members, and conveyor means for moving workpieces stepwise along said path, said conveyor means comprising a pair of elongated horizontal superposed members that extend through said series of work stations, the lower of said elongated horizontal members having a plurality of upwardly open notches in its upper surface, means for advancing said elongated members horizontally through a forward stroke equal to the distance between two adjacent work stations and for retracting said elongated members the same distance through a return stroke, and means for closing said elongated members together to retain workpieces in said notches upon said forward strokes and to move said elongated members vertically apart to release workpieces for retention at said work stations upon said return strokes thereby to advance workpieces stepwise along said series of work stations.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said means for moving said conveyor means comprising a rotating camshaft having a cam thereon, a cam follower engaged with said cam and mounted for oscillatory movement upon rotation of said cam, link means for translating said oscillatory movement of said cam follower to reciprocatory movement of said elongated horizontal members, and cam means acting between said elongated horizontal members to move them together for said forward strokes and to move them apart for said return strokes.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and a single motor for driving both said conveyor means and said workpiece pressing mechanism in synchronism with each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 768,876 8/ 1904 Campbell 72347 2,183,287 12/1939 Candee- 72-349 2,434,905 1/ 1948 Burt et al. 72-349 2,969,030 1/ 1961 Kahn et a1.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,340,445 9/1963 France.

RICHARD J. HERBST, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 72-349, 405, 422; 11332 

